Posted in: Last updated:
On Friday, the Brazil and Argentina national teams will open the quarter-finals of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, with two contrasting confrontations against Croatia and the Netherlands. The first duel, which takes place at four o’clock in the afternoon (six Doha time and the third GMT) at the “Education City” stadium, appears within the reach of the “Selesao” led by Neymar, while the second is fraught with danger for Messi’s colleagues and is hosted by the beautiful “Lusail” stadium at eight o’clock in the evening. (7 p.m. GMT).
Expectations and speculation suggest a fiery, hot, explosive confrontation between Brazil, Neymar And “Argentina” Messi in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, which continues its activities in Qatar. However, the truth calls for caution and reservation ahead of the first of the quarter-final matches, which will take place on Friday.
If Brazil is a candidate to overtake Croatia in the match that brings them together at the “Education City” stadium in Doha at four o’clock in the afternoon (six Qatar time), the fate of Argentina appears to be at stake in the face of a retaliatory Dutch team that possesses the knowledge of tactics that many lack in a major tournament. World teams.
What nominates “The Seleção” to move forward steadily towards the round of four is, of course, related to the gradual recovery of its star, Neymar, from his ankle injury, which prevented him from participating in the second and third rounds of the group stage against Switzerland and Cameroon, but the matter is related above all to the cohesion and harmony of this team in every way. levels.
No other team has two high-level goalkeepers, Alisson (from Liverpool FC) and Ederson (Manchester City), and no team has a record number of excellent defenders (Thiago Silva, Militao, Marquinhos, Prim, Sandro…) more than him, or Among the distinguished midfield and attacking players (Casimiro, Paqueta, Fabinho, Neymar, Vinicius, Rafinha, Richarlison, Rodrygo…).
And the strength of the Brazilians clearly emerged in the previous round when They scored four goals against South Korea In the first half, within 36 minutes. In comparison, despite the presence of all its stars (most notably Modric and Perezic), runner-up Croatia in 2018 resorted to penalty kicks to get rid of Japan, after achieving a single victory in the group stage (4-1 over Canada) and tied negatively against Morocco and Belgium.
For its part, Brazil lost to its reserve team from Cameroon at the end of its group, but its balance and strength were never in decline. And when the starting line-up returned to the field against South Korea, balance returned, determination intensified, and appetite for all players escalated, so that Neymar scored his first goal in the World Cup in Qatar, approaching the number of goals for “Almak” Bleh, who is in the hospital (77 goals, compared to 76 for the Paris Saint-Germain striker). ).
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic admitted that “there is nothing better than playing against Brazil,” expecting it to be a “legendary match,” while Modric confirmed that his team would play in his style and that he would try to “honor his country.” The question remains, will the determination of the Real Madrid player and his team mates suffice to put an end to the Brazilian festive dances? good luck!
On the other hand, the equation will be different for Argentina in front of the Netherlands and its all-round play, And its coach Louis van Gaal’s tactical and scientific experience, who did not taste defeat in 11 matches as coach of the “mills” team in the World Cup, while I suffered one defeat in the last 47 matches (in March 2014 0-2 against France).
Van Gaal, seeking revenge, has fought off teammates Lionel Messi After losing in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup, a psychological campaign on the eve of the tactical confrontation, when he stated that he had prepared a plan in order to prevent Messi from moving, and said, “He must be stopped and the passing lines closed.”
This was answered by his Argentine counterpart, Lionel Scaloni, 44, saying that his team used to play matches during which the little “flea” panting behind the only big title absent from its coffers was subjected to close scrutiny.
He said, “We are accustomed to the fact that our competitors study our style of play and we will see how things will go because during the match the events differ. We can also make changes from a technical point of view…”.
Van Gaal, 71, returned in 2021 from his decision to retire from training in order to take over supervision of the national team for the third time, and he will leave the position again after the Qatar 2022 finals.
For his part, Dutch striker Memphis Dubay stressed, “The championship actually begins now for us,” adding that “Argentina and Brazil, which we face the possibility of playing against in the next round, are completely different from the teams that we beat in the group stage and the final price round.”
In light of these data, will the expectations of a fiery confrontation between Brazil and Argentina be confirmed in the semi-finals? The door to speculation is open…
Alaoua Miziani, France 24 delegate to Doha